VIDEO: Tragedy at sea as migrants drown off Egypt coast
Officials slammed for late response as hundreds of migrants drown off Egypt coast
An Egyptian mother reacts beside the body of her son who was on a boat carrying migrants which capsized off Egypt's coast, in al-Beheira, Egypt, on 22 September, 2016 (Reuters)
Published date: 27 September 2016 18:35 BST
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Last update: 8 years 1 month ago
At least 162 migrants have drowned on Wednesday when a boat carrying around 600 people capsized off the Egyptian coast, a local health official said.
"An illegal migration boat has capsized off the coast of Kafr al-Sheiklh carrying 600 migrants in the largest illegal migration operation through the Kafr al-Sheikh coast so far," state news agency MENA quoted a local official as saying.
Rescue workers and fishermen said they had rescued at least 169 people, but uncertainty remains over how many might still be missing.
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